


Prodigy

by MrSpockify



Series: It takes a village [8]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Humor, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Second-Hand Embarrassment, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, but too supportive, like.... have you ever heard a 13 year old play an instrument
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:22:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27374161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrSpockify/pseuds/MrSpockify
Summary: The crew of the Wani conspire to get Zuko to play his tsungi horn at music night.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Zuko & Zuko's Crew (Avatar)
Series: It takes a village [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826791
Comments: 19
Kudos: 199





	Prodigy

It started with an innocent invitation to music night aboard the _Wani_.

A few days prior, Ling was in the mess hall with half the crew on lunch break. Someone had mentioned they played the pipa and happened to have brought one with them on board. Another announced that they also brought along their suona. Ling, quite near to dying of boredom lately and willing to do just about anything to solve it, chipped in her own xiao.

General Iroh had overheard their chatting and enthusiastically established music night, a new weekly tradition for anyone and everyone who wanted to join in. If nothing else, it was something to do to keep busy, Ling figured.

Then, the day before said music night, while on deck Ling overheard General Iroh speaking with his nephew.

“Why don’t you join us tomorrow night, Prince Zuko?” he asked cheerfully. “I packed your tsungi horn!”

“Why would you do that?” Prince Zuko shot back, and from the corner of her eye Ling could see his face grow red. Whether it was from embarrassment or anger, she wasn’t sure.

“In case you wanted to practice, of course,” General Iroh responded, undeterred by the Prince’s tone. The boy just groaned and stormed off.

Ling lasted about thirty seconds before she casually sauntered over to the General and cleared her throat. “Prince Zuko plays the tsungi horn?”

“Oh, yes!” General Iroh turned to her and beamed. “He was quite the prodigy back home. He’s played since he was a young boy,” he explained. “He used to put on performances in the palace all the time, often accompanied by dance.”

And, okay, that was absolutely adorable. Ling obviously had to tell everyone on board as quickly as possible. The news spread fast, and soon enough everyone agreed to conspire to get Prince Zuko to play his tsungi horn at music night. They also all agreed that the easiest way to do it was through the use of his uncle, who seemed to be the only person in the entire world who had any idea how to control the kid.

The first music night came and went and was a resounding success, but of course, there was no Prince Zuko. While they wrapped up for the night, Ling pulled General Iroh aside and smiled innocently.

“We would really love to see Prince Zuko next week,” she offered. “I think it would be great for morale, and it would go a long way for making the crew trust him more.”

The man put a hand to his chin as if deep in thought, then smiled brightly and nodded. “You’re right, Ling,” he said. “I think it would be good for everyone, _especially_ my nephew.”

Pleased with herself and her reasoning, she went to sleep soundly that night, assured they had succeeded and would see the young boy at their next music night.

In the morning, Ling could pinpoint the exact moment General Iroh had asked for his nephew’s musical appearance again. A loud, angry scream suddenly travelled up from the quarters below deck, and it was followed quickly by Prince Zuko carrying his horn up and promptly throwing it overboard. Behind him, a sad-looking General Iroh just shook his head.

Alright, that put a damper on the plans, but no worries. They just needed to get a replacement tsungi horn by next week.

So, the crew put their heads together and plotted. They decided the _Wani_ needed to make a stop at the nearest port, one with a neighboring shopping center that might have what they needed. The next morning, Lieutenant Jee approached General Iroh and told him about the sudden shortage of supplies for the Komodo Rhinos.

“We’re out of feed? Already?” General Iroh asked incredulously.

“Yes, sir,” Lieutenant Jee lied. “Already.”

The _Wani_ was diverted, and when they docked Lieutenant Shu made sure to loudly mention a shop she knew from a town over which had a splendid selection of teas. Interest piqued, General Iroh insisted on visiting. While there, Ensign Yunru, assigned to guard the General, managed to cough at just the right time to get his attention on a store that sold musical instruments.

Ling felt a sense of pride when she saw General Iroh return to the ship with a box of teas alongside a shiny new tsungi horn.

Now, however, was the hard part—actually getting Prince Zuko to play.

Members of the crew made a point to mention how fun music night was whenever the prince was in the room, but all it seemed to do was make him leave in a hurry. A few times, people mentioned seeing smoke come out of his ears. The issue, they all collectively decided, was that there was no way the 13-year-old boy would believe them when they said something was fun. They needed backup.

That was how Ling found herself and a few friends cornering Ruhong, the youngest crewmember and resident teenager they all knew Prince Zuko idolized.

“You want me to do _what_?” Ruhong asked, face twisting into a scowl.

Nothing _bad_ , they assured him. He just needed to subtly suggest to the prince that the tsungi horn was actually really, really cool and that playing at music night would be fun. Easy peasy.

Ruhong was reluctant but agreed when Ling and the others said they would stop making him do all the ship chores no one else wanted to do. Ling still followed the teenager and hid nearby to make sure nothing went wrong, because she didn’t quite trust Ruhong to be able to convince the hot-headed kid on his own.

She crouched down behind a crate and strained to listen, hearing Ruhong approach and quietly greet the prince and make awkward small talk. There was a long, heavy moment of silence, and Ling found herself wondering how in the world they would be able to steer the conversation casually towards music.

“So,” Ruhong broke the silence, “I heard you play the tsungi horn. That’s… cool.” Nice. Very subtle. Ling rolled her eyes and prepared to come out of hiding and drag Ruhong away while chastising him for completely failing the mission.

“Really? You think so?” Prince Zuko replied, and Ling could hear the earnest surprise in his voice.

“Oh, _yeah_ ,” Ruhong said, the eagerness in his tone way over the top. His enthusiasm sounded sarcastic. “I’d _really_ love to hear you play sometime.” Ling smacked her forehead and shook her head.

“I could put on a private performance for you,” Prince Zuko offered far too seriously. “Just the two of us.” Ling covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

“No,” Ruhong said quickly. “No, no, that’s okay. Um…” He cleared his throat. “How about at music night? I’ll go if you, uh, play.”

“Okay!”

“Great, I’ll… see you there.” Ruhong finished, and Ling heard him walk off quickly. She peeked around the crate and caught a glimpse of Prince Zuko staring after him. His cheeks were tinged pink and his expression seemed nervous.

“I need to practice,” he muttered softly, then hurried off. Ling rubbed her hands together and grinned. _Perfect_.

The next few days came and went, and no one aboard claimed to have heard the prince practicing for music night, despite their efforts. Soldiers spent extra time below decks, listening by vents or pressing ears to doors in the hopes of catching something, _anything_. But the prince was stealthy and unerringly private, so they determined they would just have to wait for the performance.

Then music night arrived, and Ling came on deck to find most of the crew in attendance. She spotted Ruhong amidst a throng of people, receiving pats on the back and head. When she approached, she could hear everyone thanking him for getting this to happen.

When Ruhong saw Ling coming, he grimaced. “I feel horrible,” he mumbled.

“Don’t,” she said, gripping his shoulder. “You did a good thing.”

“I manipulate him,” he groaned.

“You _encouraged_ him,” she corrected.

General Iroh appeared at their side wearing a big grin. “Isn’t this wonderful? What a delightful turnout for music night!” He patted Ruhong on the shoulder, who, in turn, looked about ready to keel over and die. “I heard I have you to thank for finally convincing my nephew to attend.” Ruhong smiled as though he was in immense pain, and Ling decided to have mercy on him.

“We’re all very excited to hear him play,” Ling said, bringing General Iroh’s attention to her. He beamed and looked like he wanted to say more, but just then a small figure appeared before them, instrument in tow.

The crowd hushed and watched as Prince Zuko set up his sheet music, quietly shuffling the papers on the stand before sitting on a stool and wrapping the tsungi horn around his form. It was huge, swallowing him whole. Ling wondered briefly how he was managing not to topple over under the weight.

General Iroh clapped and whooped, followed quickly by polite applause from the rest of the crew. Prince Zuko glared through the crowd at his uncle, red creeping up on his face.

The kid cleared his throat. “This is a collection of themes from _Love Amongst the Dragons_ ,” he announced. Beside her, Ling saw Ruhong cringe.

The crowd settled down and grew comfortable as Prince Zuko adjusted in his seat. It was nice, actually, to see him get into his element. He was always so uptight and angry, bossing everyone around and stomping across the ship like he had something to prove. He looked calmer now, fingers gripping the tsungi horn firmly and eyes dancing across the page ahead of him. He licked his lips and pressed them to the mouthpiece.

 _Pfffft_ … **ᵀᴼᴼᵀ**

Br- br- _brrrrrp_. **_BRRPPPP_**.

Oh. Oh no. Ling’s eyes widened.

 _WAA_ -ooooomp. _WAA_ -O **ₒₒₒ** … oooooomp.

Prince Zuko squinted at the sheet music before him, looking as if he was using all his energy to concentrate. He took a deep breath that filled his lungs to the brim and blew, cheeks puffing out and turning red.

 _Brrrp_ bum bum **BU** — **ᵗᵒᵒᵗ** … _bummmm_.

Ling could see the crowd around her growing restless. Hands lifted to cover mouths and shoulders tightened as they held back giggles. She bit her lip and refused to look at anyone directly in case she made eye contact with someone. Ahead of her, at the front of the crowd, she saw General Iroh swaying to some non-existent tempo as he watched his nephew eagerly. She wondered briefly what the hell he was hearing.

Beside her, Ruhong was rooted to his spot. He looked like he was dying. Shuffling a couple steps to the side so she was closer to him, she placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned in close.

“Maybe you should’ve just taken that private performance,” she whispered. If looks could kill, Ling would be dead.

Prince Zuko continued for what felt like forever, each note growing more sour and somehow longer. Ling thought that, if they ever got back to the Fire Nation, she had a great suggestion for the military for a brand new form of torture.

Eventually, _finally_ , the prince honked out a note that sounded somewhat like a final tone, followed by a long and painful bout of silence from the crowd.

Eager to end the torment, Ling started clapping, probably too loudly. Those around her followed suit, and everyone was slapping their hands together like their lives depended on it. Maybe if they never stopped clapping, they’d never have to hear the tsungi horn again. Maybe if they clapped loud enough it would drown out the phantom noises, loud toots and honks, all wildly out of key, that she was hearing in her head.

Loudest of all was General Iroh, whose hands were cupped around his mouth as he hollered supportively. After a while, the clapping tapered off and the crowd seemed eager to disperse. Ling thought she was equally likely to run off to bed or just jump right over the side of the ship. Both were tempting.

Then, as if they hadn’t suffered enough, General Iroh called out happily, “Encore! Encore!”

Prince Zuko’s cheeks turned pink and he sheepishly hunched in his seat, looking annoyed. Ling sighed in relief, but quickly tensed back up when the prince inhaled deeply and put his lips back onto the mouthpiece.

Oh Agni no.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope this wasn’t as painful to read as it was to write lmao
> 
> My apologies to Zuko for this, but I just refuse to believe he would actually be gifted at playing an instrument.


End file.
